Georgia man faces additional charge in drilling waste dumping incident

BY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN (Staff Writer)
Published: January 18, 2012

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TOWANDA - An additional misdemeanor charge was lodged Tuesday against a Georgia man, who is accused of dumping 800 gallons of a gas drilling waste in a state gamelands in Warren Township.

Josh Foster, 27, of Temple, Ga., was charged Tuesday with the second-degree misdemeanor of criminal mischief for intentionally damaging real or personal property of another, Wysox Magisterial District Judge Fred Wheaton announced during a short court proceeding Tuesday.

The charge is addition to three existing charges that have been lodged against Foster, namely a third-degree felony charge of criminal mischief, a third-degree misdemeanor charge of scattering rubbish, and third-degree misdemeanor charge of unlawful disposal of solid waste, according to Foster's attorney, Chris Jones of Towanda.

All of the charges stem from the same incident, which occurred late last fall on an access road inside the gamelands.

Foster on Tuesday waived his preliminary hearing on the charges in Wysox District Court.

All charges against Foster, including the new misdemeanor charge, will be transferred to the Court of Common Pleas of Bradford County.

Foster was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in Common Pleas Court on Feb. 13, but has waived his arraignment.

Judge Wheaton told news reporters Tuesday that the Bradford County District Attorney's Office and Foster's attorney have reached an agreement under which Foster will plead guilty to several charges stemming from the dumping incident.

"But they can't do it (enter the guilty plea) here" in Wysox District Court, Wheaton said.

Instead, the guilty plea would be entered in Bradford County Common Pleas Court.

In an interview on Tuesday, Jones would not confirm or deny that a plea agreement had been reached.

Nor would Bradford County District Attorney Daniel Barrett confirm the existence of the agreement.

"If there is a plea agreement, we would not (discuss it) at this stage of the proceedings," Barrett said. "We don't want to generate pre-trial publicity in the event (that a defendant later) chose to go to trial."

Barrett said it would be difficult for Foster to go to trial, since Foster had already admitted to the state police that he had dumped the sludge in the gamelands, and since a co-worker observed him do it.

Barrett said the additional charge was levied "to cover more bases and contingencies" in the case.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Dan Spadoni said Tuesday that the dumped substance was "drilling mud and rock cuttings." The dumped substance is "classified as residual waste, which is non-hazardous industrial waste," Spadoni said.

Talisman Energy spokesman Natalie Cox has said that drilling mud is a "mineral-oil based fluid used in the drilling process" to aid in the drilling.

Cox has also said the dumped substance was not hazardous to the environment.

The dumped substance had come from a Talisman Energy gas drilling site located elsewhere in Warren Township. Foster dumped the substance on an access road inside State Gamelands 219, according to the state police.

Foster was a subcontractor for Talisman Energy USA, and he worked directly for RW Products of Wheeling, W.Va.

"The DEP sent a notice of violation letter to RW Products on Dec. 16" in connection with the dumping incident in State Gamelands 219, Spadoni said. "Any additional enforcement action is still under review" by the DEP, he said.

Foster was arrested for the dumping incident on Dec. 1, which had occurred not long before his arrest.

Foster is currently free on bail.

James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or email: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.

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